Balloon Juice - Artists In Our Midst Archives

Gift Ideas and Jackal Maker Showcase Open Thread

by Betty Cracker| December 14, 20184:33 pm| 113 Comments

This post is in: Artists In Our Midst, Birdwatching, Open Threads

First, check out this fabulous Red-Shouldered Hawk who visited earlier this week and was kind enough to hang around for a photo-op:

I think it’s a juvenile. It was engaging in obnoxious youngling behavior like flying at similarly-sized wading birds and generally disrupting its fellow fauna. Plus, I think I spotted a helicopter-parenting adult nearby.

Anyhoo, holiday gifts: Since I put out a call for gift ideas the other day (and thank you for the many great suggestions), I’ve had a couple of requests to put up a thread where people can discuss gift ideas and where jackals who create nifty things can HAWK their wares. (Get it? No need to jostle; I’ll show myself out, thank you.)

So, have at it. Also, open thread!

Gift Ideas and Jackal Maker Showcase Open ThreadPost + Comments (113)

Artists In Our Midst

by Sarah, Proud and Tall| November 12, 20164:30 pm| 137 Comments

This post is in: Artists In Our Midst

Big Bunny Linocut by linocutboy on Etsy

As promised, herewith your Artists In Our Midst thread.

If you are any kind of creator – artist, writer, blogger, photographer, musician, inventor, designer, sex toy entrepreneur, gardener, whatever – professional or otherwise, and you want to give yourself or your stuff a plug, please do so.

If you’re not and you know someone who is, get in a plug for them, or ask one of our talented creators to make you something you never thought you wanted, but which would bring a bit of joy into your life.

Don’t forget our Balloon Jobs thread. There are all sorts of clever people who might be perfect for your business, and all sorts of job opportunities and suggestions on offer.

My plug is for the Etsy shop of linocutboy, whose work is just lovely, and includes the magnificent big bunny above.

Artists In Our MidstPost + Comments (137)

Writing Productivity Class and Meet Ups (NY & NJ) Comin’ Atcha!

by Hillary Rettig| October 18, 201611:38 am| 27 Comments

This post is in: Artists In Our Midst, Authors In Our Midst

Hey Everyone – I’m going to bigfoot myself to announce that I’m teaching an online writing-productivity class starting 10/31. It’s great for any writer (creative, academic, business, etc.) trying to boost his or her output, overcome procrastination and perfectionism, and/or finish a project. (Actually for anyone with those goals, in any crazed-turquoise-bowl-6a field, but the examples and discussions will all be writing-focused.) The classes are four weeks long, and the format is bloggish, so you can be located anywhere. Normally $50, but the host, SavvyAuthors, is offering a discount of $5 just for Juicers—so $45. Click here to register. (Note: the class dates are wrong on that link but rest assured you will be registering for my class.)

More info below the fold. Another perk, btw, is that we typically get many romance writers in the class, and they are interesting people who tend to occupy the sweet spot at the intersection of “kind and supportive” and “publication focused.” (Oh, and in case you’re interested, here’s a piece I did a few years back on romance fiction and social justice.)

In other news, JT and I are hitting the road again and I’d love to meet up with any Juicers in either New York City (Nov 21 – 23) or Montclair, NJ (Nov 25-26). (Pre- and post-Thanksgiving.) Please email me at [email protected]. (Also email me if questions about the class.)

Illustration: gorgeous Kintsugi pottery by Lakeside Pottery Studio in Rehoboth Beach, DE. Per Wikipedia: “Kintsugi (“golden joinery”), also known as Kintsukuroi (“golden repair”), is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum… As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.” Hillary’s note: in other words, Kinsugi exemplifies the virtues of nonperfectionism, one of the main topics we’ll discuss in class. (Image reproduced with kind permission of Morty Bachar and Patty Storms.)

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Online Class – October 31 – November 27, 2016 (four weeks)

What: The 7 Secrets of the Prolific writing productivity class

For Whom:

For all writers, including creative, academic, business, and nonprofit writers.
For writers around the world, in every time zone. (See Format section, below.)
For writers wishing to boost their writing pace, overcome obstacles to productivity, and bring a “stuck” work to completion. And, finally,
For writers who wish to write joyfully and enthusiastically.

Content: We will cover these topics:

Nature and causes of, and solutions to, procrastination (week 1)
Nature and causes of, and solutions to, perfectionism (week 2)
A method for rapid and joyful writing; also, techniques for finishing your work (as opposed to getting stuck in the middle) (week 3)
How to overcome toxic rejections/criticisms (week 3)
Time management: methods for “creating” time for your writing; also, how to recognize and stop overgiving (week 4)

Benefits:

An immediate increase in your writing speed and an immediate decrease in your writing-related pressure and stress.
A new method for writing that offers maximum speed, ease, and effectiveness.
The abilities to: (1) quickly recognize and overcome barriers to productivity and success, (2) avoid and recover from traumatic rejections, and (3) create more time for your writing.
Gains that will continue (and build) throughout your writing career. And,
Mastery of principles and habits (antiprocrastination, antiperfectionism, resilience, time management) whose benefits extend well beyond your writing, to many areas of life.

Where: SavvyAuthor.com. SavvyAuthors classes are cheap, convenient, and fun; and you never have to worry about parking.

Format: I post two lessons and one or two homework assignments each week, and we spend the rest of the week discussing them. Everything stays posted so there are no time constraints, and you can be located anywhere in the world.

You’ll get lots of individual attention from me, and lots of support from the other students.

Cost: $45 for Juicers (normally $50). To register. (Note – the date is wrong on the discount page, but don’t worry – you’ll still be registered for my class.)

Writing Productivity Class and Meet Ups (NY & NJ) Comin’ Atcha!Post + Comments (27)

Shameless self promotion thread

by Sarah, Proud and Tall| July 22, 20157:11 pm| 161 Comments

This post is in: Artists In Our Midst, Balloon Jobs, Free Markets Solve Everything, Organizing & Resistance, Readership Capture

the_pottery_vendor-large

I can’t see that we’ve done an Artists in our Midst thread, or a job thread, for quite a while. Then again, I may just be too drunk to find them.

Anyway, lets combine the two and have a free thread for Juicers – artists, Etsyists, writers, job seekers, freelancers, businesses seeking workers, community groups seeking assistance, whatever, lurkers more than welcome – to give themselves a plug.

[Image – Francisco de Goya (1746-1828) The Pottery Vendor]

Shameless self promotion threadPost + Comments (161)

Late Night Graphic Artists Open Thread

by Anne Laurie| August 28, 20132:14 am| 59 Comments

This post is in: Artists In Our Midst, Popular Culture, Daydream Believers

First, artist and commentor Larime could use a little help:

My wife, Sylv Taylor, is bed-bound with Lupus and her laptop is the only link she has to the outside world. That laptop is also what she uses to create art, including coloring comics. It’s dying – it shut off 10 times in 3 hours today – and when it’s dead she’ll be utterly isolated and unable to create.

PLEASE consider helping in getting her a new laptop. If you can’t pledge, PLEASE share this on your journals and tell your friends. If her laptop dies and I can’t replace it, she’s going to have nothing to do and no one but me to talk to, all day, every day. This laptop is literally her life and her world.

The Indiegogo campaign is here. Thank you!

***********

Second, a documentary we can look forward to:

(Via Sharan Shetty at Slate)

In theatres November 15.

Late Night Graphic Artists Open ThreadPost + Comments (59)

Artists In Our Midst Open Thread

by John Cole| July 27, 20139:00 pm| 147 Comments

This post is in: Artists In Our Midst, Open Threads

First things first- just furminated the boss, and let me tell you what- Steve loves being furminated so much that he is actually hard to brush because he keeps head-butting the brush and doing circles instead of holding still (which was never an issue with Tunch- holding still was a lifelong goal that he marvelously achieved). But he just loves it. Furminated him, then brushed him with a regular brush, and it is amazing how quickly his coat is getting better. Even the bald areas, where I had to delicately cut out mats so he would stop being Boss Marley with dreadlocks everywhere, is growing back and feels silky and soft to the touch.

Back to the thrust of the post, it’s been forever since we have one of these, and I know how many creative people we have commenting and lurking, so let’s do one tonight. If you are an artist/crafter/musician/carpenter/whatever, and you have some wares to share with the rest of us (of if your spouse or friends or basically anything cool you want to share), throw it in the comments so we can decide if maybe you have something that would make our days a little brighter and happier.

Some of my most prized possessions are things you all have made, whether it be my GD portrait, the picture of the beautiful sunflower fields I bought, etc.

Artists In Our Midst Open ThreadPost + Comments (147)

Open Thread and Artists in our midst

by Sarah, Proud and Tall| October 20, 201210:33 pm| 165 Comments

This post is in: Artists In Our Midst, Excellent Links, Open Threads

I’ve got nothin’ right now, so I will simply share this lovely picture by a late 19th-early 20th century painter called Bertram Hiles, who lost both his arms in a tramcar accident as a child, and who painted with his mouth.

There is more at Callum James and at Design. Decoration. Craft.

So what the hell, lets make this an open thread and an impromptu “Artists in our midst” thread.

Feel free to link to photos, painting, craft, music, writing (including gratuitous blog whoring) or indeed anything that you or your friends have made that you want to show off.

Open Thread and Artists in our midstPost + Comments (165)

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

The choice is between normal and crazy.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” is supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

I was confident that someone would point it out and thought why not me.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Innocent people don’t delay justice.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Even though I know this is a bad idea, I’m off to do it anyway!

He imagines himself as The Big Bad, Who Is Universally Feared… instead of The Big Jagoff, Who Is Universally Mocked.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.